Jonata, Fenix, Ballard Canyon

Jonata · California › Ballard Canyon › United States of America

Red · Red Bordeaux Blend

Critics

92 /100

Reviews

professional

Vintages

No vintages

No vintage-specific entries have been added for this wine.

Community Reviews

Reviews

92.1

Avg Score

Highest

All the parts are there, nothing exceptional, don’t sense a lot of potential for further improvement … our last of this vintage.

2018 vintage

Nose: plums, leather. My wife got canned mandarins; hints of sweet of the mandarin and sharpness of the tin. Her nose and palate is way better than mine. Palate: plums at the front, bittersweet chocolate at mid palate, and crushed granite at the end. A little hot. Good acid. My wife said a little chalky. I liked the finish. It has a good, long finish. I think a signature of Matt Dees wines is the long finish.

2017 vintage

This blend (merlot) really delivers. It is still "packing" and the dark fruit in both the aroma and flavors are delivering. I enjoy a smooth, full body wine with balanced acidity, alcohol and tannins...this wine delivers. Consumed with friends at dinner at Sperry's in Nashville. Sorry for the brief comments.

2017 vintage

Day 1 had 375ml which was really good, with the merlot coming through pleasantly with deep red fruit and mocha notes. Good match w filets. Sealed the other 375ml in a half bottle and had a few days later, and it was pretty meh. V strange, like a different wine. I split bottles like this every week and don’t recall such a dramatic shift. Anyways next time will have on one sitting! I’d score low 90’s for Day 1 and …

2018 vintage

I must say I was a little disappointed in this. Decanted approx 1hr and was just completely flat, really not much there.

2018 vintage

Fruit Forward but not overdone, has some vegiital and earthy notes. Outstanding with our filet.

2017 vintage

Also smells amazing - purple dark blue fruit with hint of mocha. A touch of open water smell to it. Salty and powerful on the palate. Warm.fruit on the nose but that Salty minerality on the back. Merlot dominate. Planted almost entirely on sand, whereas most of Ballard is limestone. Maintain the finesse in the wines and ends on a high notes.

2018 vintage

Plucked this off of a restaurant list, so no air time. Drinking well, despite the vintage. The merlot really shines with the first few sips, with lush black raspberries and plums, hint of chocolate, olives, and finishing with crushed stones. I suspect this would have improved further with a bit more time in the glass. Well done, I have only had a few Jonathan reds in the past and look forward to trying some more

2017 vintage

Holy Moly, Great Googelymoogelley, I like this !!

2018 vintage

A bit disappointing based on other bottles. Either not aging well or an off bottle. Usually a favorite from Jonata. Vague stewed prunes taste

2017 vintage

Rising Above While choosing today’s wine, it took a moment for me to harken back to the reason I bought this wine in the first place. I’m sure the 96 Point reviews had a hand in the matter, but I kept thinking there was something else I had forgotten about the wine or the winery. Then I remembered that Jonata is the sister winery of Screaming Eagle. It’s starting to make sense now. How about the wine, the: Jonata Fenix …

2018 vintage

Big for big’s sake

2017 vintage

nose is herbal and inviting. full bodied with rounded tannins. mineralized iodine and saline. elegant and really enjoyable.

2018 vintage

Needs a 3 hour decant. Black cherry, bittersweet chocolate, leather

2018 vintage

Unlikable and over extracted. "Slutty" one friend called it.

2018 vintage

Great chalkiness and mouthfeel, black cherry, bittersweet chocolate, licorice.

2017 vintage

Also smells wonderful to me - graphite and mixed black and red fruits. Much brighter on the palate than expected. Wow is one tasters reaction. Lots of structure on the palate. Youthful with great density while being light on its feet. Super complex on the nose. So darn youthful right now. Needs time to stretch its legs out.

2018 vintage

The nose is muted a bit, though the aromas come through clearly in the form of soft cherry, black plum, black currant, sweet tobacco, and a slight flourish of lavender potpourri. Full bodied with broad, finely grained tannin and modest, well-integrated acid. The broad-shouldered structure builds with time in the mouth, and fills the entire palate. The flavor profile includes sweet cherry, red and black plumbs, spicy black pepper, slightly bitter cinnamon, blood orange, and scorched earth. This would benefit …

2017 vintage

Just not a whole lot going on here.

2017 vintage